Hi Nilthepill,
Sounds very interesting! I have spoken with ERic Pheils who said Mitsubishi tested the new Zanden cables and found that with the Safety Wave fabric in it...they had 5db lower noise floor...the guys at Mitsubishi were apparently dumbfounded.
Enjoy!
As for Stahl-Tek...i have heard only the original Vekian 2 years ago. The new Opus is supposedly far better, more organic, better sense of live music in the upper treble.
That said, the Stahl-Tek Vekian is the first digital ever to make me consider trading in my beloved Zanden. I have heard Scarlatti, Emm CDSA, Meridian 808.2i, ARC CD7, CD8, Wadia s7i, Metronome Kalista Ref/C2A...none have tempted me so far.
But as some will be sick of reading...i have been trying to speak with everyone i can think of about Zanden v STahl-tek...until i can get a shoot-out arranged hopefully in about a month's time.
The Stahl-Tek has a Scarlatti-like low noise floor, the ability to keep tempo/pace in complex passages which enables you to totally and easily understand contrapuntal themes which are often lost on other digital playback. I have not heard such effortless delivery of multiple individual themes of music so you can follow each one before.
At the same time, my Zanden is older than yours. I have heard the latest Zanden but not for long enough and not in a direct shoot-out with Stahl-Tek.
But i have spoken to more than a few guys in Asia who owned Zanden and have traded in for stahl-tek. so it does make me think! honestly, i could be very happy with Zanden (as well i should!)...but if i am going to 'double down' and buy a second-hand transport...i may as well be sure about this. STay tuned!...;)
Pls post your findings about Zanden cables when you hear them!!!!!!!!!!
